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What Differentiates the Best from the Rest?

It was the final of 2004-05 UEFA Champions league. Liverpool was up against A.C. Milan, and they had lost 0-3 during the first half.

People assumed that A.C. Milan had secured the golden trophy. There was no way Liverpool could turn back the scores and win the championship.

But Liverpool did. They cornered A.C. Milan to 3-3 during the second half, and later won the league by penalty kicks.

What was deemed as impossible turned into a legendary win. The question is: how did Liverpool do it?

Here’s one of their secrets: it’s about focusing on the end goal.

In our businesses, we want to achieve success every time. We want to deliver outcomes, secure the deal, make a profit and expand our network.

However, along the way to success, we encounter brick walls, just like those Liverpool players during the first half of the game..

But what sets them apart is that they didn’t dwell on having lost three goals to none. Instead, they had the mindset, “If we win this thing, we’ll become legends.”

Here’s why focusing on the end goal is crucial in building high-performance teams.

1. They become solutions-oriented, not problems-oriented

While it is natural for us to dwell on disappointment, focusing on the end result shifts our mindset from thinking, “Why is this problem happening to us?” to “What is the next step needed to win this business proposal?”

2. They learn from mistakes

Focusing on the end goal makes team members learn from past mistakes. They ask questions like, “What can we learn from this? Is there anyone we can ask for advice?” which brings them one step closer to achieving results.

3. They don’t blame other members in the team

This is what usually happens when a project goes wrong – we find the person who is accountable and try to wash our hands of the problem.

High-performance teams know that they are in the situation together and blaming others will not get them anywhere. Instead, they start to think positively about possible solutions.

With fierce competition in the market, businesses need to differentiate themselves as the leaders by having high-performance teams. And it all starts by focusing on the end goal.

This article is modified from the Institute of Management training module: Teaming effectively for high performance outcomes. For more information about the course, please visit our website.